Concentrator



Dec. 25, 1934. c. F. MGCLEEIQY GONCENTRATOR Filed May 1, 1935 2Sheets-Sheet l wfmm ATTORNEYS Dec. 25, 1934. MCCLEERY CONCENTRATOR FiledMay 1, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ,77Z@Z.

ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 25, 1934 UNITED STATES" oFFicE 9 Claims;

My invention relates to concentrators, andmore'particularly toa machineof the type disclosed in my co-pending application for patent Seri'alNo.613,151, filed on the 24th day of May;

sand, gravel and other'earthy matter by what is commonly known as thedry method of concentration,lin a pan which rotates about a slantingaxis, and which uponitsflat face has aridge to conduct material-througha spirally: winding path to a central point at which concentrates aredischarged; 1

It is an object of the present invention to-protion, which promote itsefficiencyand which, in general; aid-in'prov-iding a concentratingapparatus in which simplicity of construction 'is com-- bined withcapacity for the treatment of large quantities of materialin acontinuous operation and with capabilityfor the clean separation ofallor at least the greater percentage of. values.

present in the. material.

With. this and other objects inview, the im-- provedmachine comprisesthe constructions, combinations and arrangements hereinafter to bedescribed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in the variousviews of which like parts are similarly designated and inwhich Figure 11represents an elevation of the improved machine,

Figure 2; aplanview. of thepan-element of the machine looking in thedirection of the arrow A in Figure 1 and drawn to an enlarged scale,

Figure 3 is a section along the line 33- in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is-a section taken Figure2,

Figure 5 isa fragmentary section on the line 5 5 of Figure 2,

on the line 4 -4of Figure 6"is anenlarged section of a peripheralportion cfthe-pan, in-the plane indicated by the line3--3 in Figure 2;

Figure 7 'isan enlarged section on the line 77 of Figure 2 V Figure 8'is an enlarged section taken on the line 8 8 of'Figure 1',

Figure 9 is an enlarged section in theplane designated by the line 99'ofFigure 1, and

FigurelO' isan enlarged section in a plane at right anglesato thatindicated by the'line'-10'-l0 in Figurel.

.The' concentrator which-is transportable for In this machine, valuesare extracted from its movement to different locations, is mounted upona wheeled truck 5-car-ryinganinternal combust-ion' engine or othersuitable motor 6.- Thismotor which operatestheconcentrator, mayalso' beutilized for the propulsion of the truck". Since themeans by which thismay be accomplished are obvious, they have not beenshownin the drawings.

The concentrator is mounted'on the truck upon two standards '7. Asubstantially horizontal shaft 10" 8 is supportedon'thestandardsthrough-the medium of set-screws 9 which permit of'itsadjustment in avertical plane. The shaft is hollow'and, it includesacylindrical casing-10 ml a' gearing Whichtransmits the movement ofthemotorto the rotary-element of the'concentrator.

A sleeve 12 projecting laterally from'the'casing. supports'the rotaryelement, as will hereinafter be more fully described, and' an a'rm"13onthe" sleeve supports a spider 14; from'whicha station ary cover 15 forthe rotary element is suspended.

Thesleeve; furthermore; has 'two 'arms l6=which at' their outer endscarry'spring-supportd dogs 1'7 to impart a vibratory movement to therotary element. Thearmshave to this endcup-shaped extremities18,*as bestshown in Figure-6 The; dogs are movably'supported upon coiled springs19in the cups andstems' 20-onthe dogs extend through thesprings andthrough openings in the bottoms of the cups to guide'them'for axialdisplacement.

V The rotary element hereinbefore repeatedly referred'to, consists'of acircular pan havingfaperipheral upstanding rim- 21'. The rim is'fastenedto the fiat bottom plate 22- of the pan by means-of anangle- 23- placedexterior-1y of the rimand the angle is rigidly'secured to thebottomplate-by'means of "belts or 'rivet's 24; heads 215 ofwhich extendin circular alinement' below the undersurface'of' the pan; The'circleof" the bolt heads is in'register \viththe-dogs 011* the'arms 16 so thatduring rotation of the pan, the rivetheads rideover the dogs in-rapidsuccession.

Inasmuch as the dogs extend in the path' of therivet-heads and thesprings are sufii'ciently strong to withstand undue depression of thedogs, a vibratory movement is imparted to-the-bottom' plate of the pan,which expeditesandprornotes the separationof values from the gangue in-nat'erial under treatment;

The pan-has a centralhollow shaft 26 fastened toits bottom plate,- by aflangedcollar" 27; This coll-ar'rests-against the end of the sleeve 12on the gear-casing through themedium'of a bushing- "2'8- ofi' anti fiiction material;

The hollow shaft connects with a discharge opening 29 in the center ofthe bottom 22 of the pan and it extends through the hollow sleeve 12into the gear-casing 10 where it is equipped with a bevel gear 30.

Meshing with this gear is another similar gear 31 at the end of a shaft32 mounted inside the hollow shaft 8 at one side of the gear-casing, andat the end of the shaft 32 is a pulley 33 which by means of a belt 34 isconnected with a driving pulley 35 of the engine. The hollow shaft 26extends through the gear-casing into a spout 36 formed integrally withthe casing and projecting downwardly thereof. It is through this hollowshaft 26 and this spout 36 that the concentrates are delivered fromthepan. It will be observed that the mounting as described permits ofvarying the angle ofiinclination of the pan-shaft by rotary adjustmentof the supporting shaft 8, and in order to facilitate this adjustment, ajack 37 is mounted on the truck, with its movablescrew part 38 inconnection with a lug 39 on the sleeve 12 of the gear-casing through themedium of a rod 40.

Fastened upon the bottom surface of the pan is a spiral ridge 41 whichwinds from the rim of the pan in a direction opposite to the directionof rotation, to the central opening 29 in the bottom of the pan,connecting with the hollow shaft 26.

The spiral ridge gradually decreases in height as it approaches thecenter of the pan and it also decreases in width in the same directionso that it provides a spiral path of gradually decreasing width anddepth through which the material under treatment advances by the rotarymovement of the pan.

The cover 15 suspended from the spider arms 14 covers the entire pan andhas a lip 42 overhanging the peripheral edge of its rim.

A feed chute 43 connects with an opening of the cover as at 44, and ahopper 45 at the end of the chute has a screen 46 for the separation ofcoarse matter from material supplied thereto. At the outer end of thespiral path or channel is a slanting plate 47 extending crosswise of thechannel substantially through the width thereof, which turns thematerial over from the outer convolution of the spiral inwardly as thepan revolves around its axis.

In the operation of the concentrator the pan is rotated about its axisin the direction of the arrow in Figure 2. The material is continuouslyfed into the hopper and entering the spiral channel at the outer portionthereof, it moves along the channel toward the center of the pan. Theheavier and valuable metals settle to the bottom of the channel byspecific gravity and are eventually discharged through the centralopening and the hollow shaft into the delivery spout 36.

The coarser and lighter matter spills continually across the edges ofthe sides of the spiral channel and is ultimately discharged across therim of the pan at the lower portion thereof.

As the values advance toward the center of the pan, the volume of thegangue decreases and since the cross-sectional area of the spiralchannel and the height of the wall of the same is gradually reduced, thegangue will pass across the wall until only values are delivered throughthe central opening. Subject to a continuous feed, there is a continuousdischarge of concentrates through the spout and a simultaneouscontinuous discharge of gangue across the rim of the pan.

The slant of the pan is varied by rotary adjustment of the shaft 8, inaccordance with the character of the material under treatment.

The cover 15 prevents material from falling into the spiral channelexcept through the chute 43, and the screen in the hopper separatesboulders, stones and other coarse matter from the material before itenters the pan. The plow 47 serves to throw the material inwardly as itpasses the region at which the material is fed into the pan and thevibratory motionimparted to the pan by the passageof the circularseriesof rivet heads 25 across the relatively stationary dogs 17 loosens thematerial and expedites the passage of the material through the spiralchannel, and the downward movement of the heavy values in the material,to the bottom of the channel.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A concentrator comprising a pan mounted to rotate about a slantingaxis and having a discharge-opening centrally of its bottom-surface, anda spiral channel winding from the periphery of the pan to said opening,and a slanting plate crosswise of the channel in the outer portionthereof to turn material fed into the pan toward the more centralportion of the same.

2. A concentrator comprising a pan mounted to rotate about a slantingaxis and having a discharge-opening centrally of its bottom-surface, anda spiral channel winding from the periphery of the pan to said opening,a substantially horizontal shaft upon which the pan is supported, and astationary cover for the pan supported by the shaft.

3. A concentrator comprising a pan mounted to rotate about a slantingaxis and having a discharge-opening centrally of its bottom-surface,

and a spiral channel winding from the periphery of the pan to saidopening, a substantially horizontal shaft including a lateral sleeveupon which the pan is supported and which provides a passage forconcentrates discharged through the central opening, and a stationarycover for the pan, supported on the sleeve.

4. A concentrator comprising a pan mounted to rotate about a slantingaxis and having a discharge-opening centrally of its bottom-surface, anda spiral channel winding from the periphery of the pan to said opening,a substantially horizontal shaft mounted for rotary adjustment, andincluding a lateral sleeve upon which the pan is supported and whichprovides a passage for concentrates discharged through the centralopening, a stationary cover supported by the sleeve, and means actingupon the sleeve for adjustment of the shaft.

5. A concentrator comprising a pan mounted to rotate about a slantingaxis and having a discharge-opening centrally of its bottom-surface, anda spiral channel winding from the periphery of the pan to said opening,a substantially horizontal shaft mounted for rotary adjustment andincluding a gear-casing, a sleeve projecting laterally from the casing,and a spout projecting from the casing opposite to the sleeve, the panbeing supported by the sleeve, a hollow shaft connected with the centralopening of the pan and extending through the sleeve into the spout, adrive shaft supported by the horizontal shaft, and gearing in the casingfor transmitting a rotary movement of the drive shaft to the hollowshaft.

6. A concentrator comprising a pan mounted to rotate about a slantingaxis and having a discharge-opening centrally of its bottom-surface, anda spiral channel winding from the periphery of the pan to said opening,a substantially horizontal shaft mounted for rotary adjustment andincluding a gear-casing, a sleeve projecting laterally from the casing,and a spout projecting from the casing opposite to the sleeve, the panbeing supported by the sleeve, a hollow shaft connected with the centralopening of the pan and extending through the sleeve into the spout, adrive shaft supported by the horizontal shaft, gearing in the casing fortransmitting a rotary movement of the drive shaft to the hollow shaft,and a jack acting upon the sleeve for rotary adjustment of the shaft ofwhich the sleeve is a part.

'7. A concentrator comprising a pan mounted to rotate about a slantingaxis and having a discharge-opening centrally of its bottom-surface, anda spiral channel Winding from the periphery of the pan to said opening,a substantially horizontal shaft mounted for rotary adjustment andincluding a gear-casing, a sleeve projecting laterally from the casing,and a spout projecting from the casing opposite to the sleeve, the panbeing supported by the sleeve, a hollow shaft connected with the centralopening of the pan and extending through the sleeve into the spout, adrive shaft supported by the horizontal shaft,

gearing in the casing for transmitting a rotary movement of the driveshaft to the hollow shaft, a cover for the pan supported by the sleeve,and means acting upon the sleeve for adjustment of the shaft of which itis a part.

8. A concentrator comprising a pan mounted to rotate about a slantingaxis and composed of a bottom having a central discharge-opening, aperipheral rim and a spiral ridge winding from the rim to the opening,the bottom and the rim being connected by fastening devices in acircular series, having heads projecting exteriorly of the bottom, arelatively stationary dog in the path of the series of heads, andmechanism for rotation of the pan.

9. A concentrator comprising a pan mounted to rotate about a slantingaxis and having a discharge-opening centrally of its bottom-surface, anda spiral channel winding from the periphery of the pan to said opening,a bearing for the pan, mechanism for rotation of the pan, and means forimparting a vibratory movement to the pan, including a circular seriesof projections on the bottom thereof, an arm on the bearing, and a dogon the arm in the path of the circular series of projections.

CLYDE F. MCCLEERY.

